Stew's Reviews: Les Maitres du temps (Time Masters)

Les Maitres du temps (1982)

I must confess, René Laloux's style of scifi is one that I have a soft spot for. Its something that gives the idea of being so fantastic that it has to be from outer space or it is so drug induced that you can't help but watch.

Laloux produced three of the most unique scifi films, La Planete Sauvage (Fantastic Planet), Les Maitres du temps (Time Masters), and Gandahar (Light Years). Fantastic Planet is widely considered to be a favorite among his fans (myself included). But this isn't a review of Gandahar or Fantastic Planet. This review is all about his lesser known film, Time Masters.


As a note, throughout this review I will refer to Les Maitres du temps as Time Masters, even though I did watch the original french version. This is only for my usual laziness of not wanting to type out the full original title.

The plot of Time Masters is easy to grab onto even when reading the subtitles. It begins with Claude (Piel's Dad?) and Piel racing away from an attack (most likely the insects of the planet that eat your brain). Claude crashes the speeder and tells Piel to listen only to "Mike" and to get to a weird coral forest. Mike is just an egg-like microphone that can send messages across the galaxy to someone who has the other mike. This adds an interesting layer because Piel, being maybe ten or so, utterly believes that Mike is alive (or a robot). So when Jaffar (your basic Han Solo) and the Princess talk to Piel via the mike, Piel gets confused because he wonders why Mike has two voices. Once everything is straightened out, Jaffar tells Piel to stay put and he will come and rescue him (because if he leaves the forest the brain eating insects will kill him). That is the basic plot, a race to rescue Piel from the planet of Perdide. However it is what gets in their way across the galaxy that fills up most of the story, as well as what Piel is up to while they are traveling.

The ending twist is pretty big. I would say its on par with the twist in the original SAW movie.


Time Masters art style comes from the famous artist Moebius (Jean Giraud). The style of the film is similar to the later Light Years as opposed to the hand painted look of Fantastic Planet. My only grip is that some characters, namily the prince and princess, look really plain. Kind of like a statue in their facial appearance. That and the princess has no eyebrows which weirds me out. The two gnomes, Silbad, Piel, and that waw-waw creature are probably my favorite designs. Jaffar is pretty good too, he has that tough, rogue look to him, but he just doesn't emote as well as the comical characters.


What I liked: As I stated, there were a few characters that I really liked. Piel is probably my favorite since he was animated with a lot of love. The way he spins Mike the first time he really gets to know him or some of Piel's subtle movements are what really draw you to him. His animation gives a sense of innocence, which when contrasted with the fragile nature of his link with our heroes, makes the tension high. This is especially true when the Prince begins manipulating Piel into drowning himself in a lake.

Silbad and the waw-waw creature are sort of in the same boat for me. They are both a quirky character along the same vein as Disney's humorous sidekick characters (only in this case they aren't annoying or lacking interest in their plight). Both of them have scenes that will stick with you the most (namely because of their depressing nature).

The gnomes (Yula and Jad) are very odd. At first I just though of them as goofy sidekicks like the goofy blob creature from Treasure Planet, but it becomes obvious that they are the narration that surrounds the film. Yula and Jad are creatures that can understand and "smell" human thoughts. If a human has bad thoughts they smell bad for example. The gnomes analyze several characters and explain their intents to the audience by how much of a headache they get from listening to their thoughts.


As with all of Laloux's films, the universe is just as interesting as the film itself. A forest of coral, luminous fruit, flowers that birth little people, and the blob monster that steals souls. Half the time you will be wondering if he either took a lot of drugs or if he really was crazy enough to come up with half of the weird stuff in his movies.

The bad: Alright, while the animation on the goofy characters is great, sometimes the animation on the "straight" characters (anyone who is an adult and not Silbad) is downright nonexistent. Its that bad anime animation where a character is just staring with no movement whatsoever, or just their mouth moves. The spaceship animation could arguably be worse since they are flat paintings that move across the screen. They look beautiful, but once you have seen one perspective of a ship you will end up seeing it again later. The Double Triangle 22 (Jaffar's ship) has a few views but the Interplanetary Reform only has one view resulting in a lot of obvious reuse. While I'm on the topic of spaceships, what's the deal with Double Triangle 22's cockpit? Its a clear glass dome! That's like if the Enterprise had a glass roof and a big red target marking where the command deck was.


I have to say I loved the music from this movie, mainly the intro song, but the song that the Princess sings really threw me. It wasn't the song itself, it was just that there was no suggestion of it. No sort clip of the Princess feeling motherly to Piel and softly singing to him, it was just a hard cut into a musical interlude. That and the fact that there was accompanying instruments to her lullaby. Once she is midway through the song it will feel right, but that initial cut into the song is so abrupt that it will throw you for a few seconds.

Final Verdict: If you like René Laloux's films you will like this one. Its not as much as an acid trip as his other ones, but the plot is very engaging. Its a really cool scifi, homer's odyssey kind of movie (by that I mean it is more about the journey). Unlike my previous reviews, this movie is fine for children. However there two deaths (well three but he's a jerk) and some blood.

This is sort of a side note, but why did they call it Time Masters? Sure the Time Masters are one of the main elements, but that doesn't happen until your 90% through the movie. The last thing you see is an actual Time Master (who look like glowing pod people). I think a title that refers to Piel would make more sense since he is the main focus of the plot. Whatever.

Next time: the movie that almost killed Nelvana, Rock & Rule.

Stew's Reviews: The Plague Dogs

The Plague Dogs (1982) was produced/directed by Martin Rosen, the same man who made the film adaptation for Watership Down. Both Watership Down and The Plague Dogs are novels of author Richard Adams. So basically I can tell you this now, if you have seen either Watership Down or The Plague Dogs, you can expect a similar style in both of them. Both are tales of animals struggling through life, fighting off man and beast.


Plague Dogs (I'm dropping the 'the' for my convenience) is your typical tale of man vs beast, or rather beast vs man. Rowf (the black lab) and Snitter (the fox terrier) are lab test animals that finally break out. The rest of the movie chronicles their survival against humans and their own need for food. That's basically it in a nutshell. It reminds me of Grave of the Butterflies, in that the draw of the film is just hoping that the heroes will make it by the end. Once I reached the conclusion I also noticed some connections to The Road. Two heroes who must fight to stay alive by killing bad guys or finding food. You are driven to watch because you connect with the characters and you and they hope that the next hill will have salvation.

But there is none. This is Plague Dogs after all. Where Watership Down has its low points, it also has a fair share of high points where the main characters finally succeed and live peacefully. Plague Dogs has none of that. Even when they finally manage to find food it is only ripped from them or it has the feeling of being too good to be true. When a movie starts and within the span of less that five minutes you have seen two dogs die, you know its going to be a rough ride. However the death and violence in Plague Dogs is not the same as in my previous review of Felidae, where violence felt more shocking. In Plague Dogs the violence feels right because it is justified in a way. As Rowf says, they needed to become animals like their ancestors, it is kill or be killed. They need to kill the farm animals in order to survive. Also, a lot of the real violence happens off screen, usually in a character jumping over a rock or fence to do the deed.


Technically, Plague Dogs is very good. The animation isn't smooth, but their attention to detail on the dogs reaction to events is spot on. Similar to Felidae, Plauge Dogs give the animals human dialogue, but their actions are very animal-like. Example: Rowf pees on a tree and discusses with Snitter about where they will go next now that they have escaped, then as soon as he moves Snitter pees on the same spot. In another scene a farmer tries to call Snitter over to him. Like a real dog Snitter hesitates, but since he's interested he slowly works his way toward him. However, in dog fashion, he stops to sniff a tree and doesn't make a B-line right too him.

I was both impressed with the background art as I was sick of it. Overall its all very painterly, which is nice, but its all very muddy. All the rocks look the same and dull (maybe that's how they look in that part of Great Britain, I don't know), but halfway through the movie I started to get a new perspective about it. The backgrounds all have a very saturated tones that gives off a depressing vibe, which is exactly how the artists want you to feel while watching it. This isn't a happy Disney princess movie, its Plague Dogs! You wouldn't be as investing in the character's hunger and desperation if the ground was all green and sunny. One thing that did stand out drastically about the backgrounds is the use of camera movements through them. The biggest one is when Rowf is howling at the moon for Snitter as the camera rotates around him. There is also another scene where Snitter is explaining where he went and the camera bounces around the ruined shack, popping into each window and opening to show the two of them talking. It must have been very hard to set up with each rotating and twisting background matching the cells of animation.


The characters were defined very clearly. By that I mean you could pick up what their character traits were very fast. Rowf, the big lab, was tested for his stamina so he is naturally strong. His thought pattern is mainly bent on killing anyone who messes with them. He wants to die fighting. Like all tough characters, Rowf is also very stubborn and a bit dim. He also thinks with the glass half empty. Snitter is the opposite, he is small, weak, and a positive thinker. While Snitter is dependent on Rowf's strength, Rowf is dependent on Snitter's motivation. Despite how positive he is, Snitter isn't a realist. His head is in the clouds about finding a master like his former one. That, and the fact that his brain was tampered with at the research facility. Snitter suffers from "flies in his head" and he constantly gets confused. At one point it gets so bad that he invents a better life in his head that he can see from time to time. Later on the two dogs meet up with a fox named "the tod". Tod, or the tod, is right away deemed a trickster (like all fox characters). The only reason the dogs team up with him is that he has real world experience in hunting and escaping humans. Throughout the movie they fight with him (well mostly Rowf does) because he is always swindling them in some way. The final character(s) is the narrators. Its kind of hard to understand if they are the dogs voices sometimes, but they are a interesting addition to the movie. What they do is explain the larger picture of what the dogs are up to, usually while we watch footage of the dogs running around. Each narrator is different, so some times it is a news reporter talking about sheep being killed by dogs, or a scientist from the lab telling someone to keep quiet about their escape. This is a unique use of narration that I have only seen used in small parts such as a letter being read or a phone call, not something that is used throughout the film. I love it. It reminds me of the new trend in current games where you will pick up an audio recording of serious event that plays as you continue to play the game. Also, there a lot of famous people who give their voices to the characters including John Hurt (Snitter) and Patrick Stewart (Narrator, Military Major).


Some interesting facts: There are two run times for Plague Dogs, one 86 minutes and one 103 minutes. The full version only played in Australia, which if you know Australia now that seems like a myth. Recently it was collected again for a DVD release that contains the missing bits. Most cuts parts were pointless, but once full scene was cut. In it a helicopter flies over some hills to find a dead body of a man who has been eaten. It was pulled because it was so shocking, but when you watch the film at that point the dogs were really starving so inevitably they would eat a human (I managed to see the scene and it is very powerful in retrospect of the whole movie. Like a final act of defiance against humans even though they really just wanted something to eat). The ending is like the book however in later editions of the novel (highlight to show spoiler - warning - does reveal ending of the movie) Richard Adams changed the ending so that the two dogs did survive and were rescued by Snitter's former master (who conveniently didn't die like he thought he had....so why was he sent to the laboratory?). They then lived with him happily ever after, the end. (End spoiler)

Final Verdict: While it may be violent filled with a lot of death, Plague Dogs is more about the depressing struggle of two dogs trying to find a better life. There is no swearing (maybe an arse or two I guess), and the violence isn't too life threatening, but I still think a child won't understand the serious plot. A great movie to watch (if you are okay with a constant feeling of dread), but I would suggest sandwiching this movie with something more lighthearted and comedic to bring your mood back on to a level playing ground.
Also, WARNING, THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR CHILDREN OR ANYONE WHO IS TAKING ANTI-DEPRESSANTS.

Next time: Another 1982 animated film, Les Maitres du Temps.

Stew's Reviews: Felidae

So this is a new segment I'd like to call, Stew's Reviews, in which I review something (mostly films).

"Felidae" 1994

Described as a "animated, mystery noir about cats", Felidae shows us that cartoons can be for adults too. In fact I should state it right now, THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR KIDS. It may not be for cat lovers either since the movie has a heaping helping of mangled, dead cats.

With that out of the way I'm sure your question is, "well if its not for kids what's so great about it?" What is the balls of this film? What is the thing that hooks the viewer in. It seems to be a few things.


First off, the animation is great. Felidae was the most expensive animated film so far in Germany, with a cost of 10 million marks. It shows in a lots of places. All the cats move like cats (no anthropomorphizing into two legged animals like in the Secret of Nimh). The scene that I can recall the animation being at its peak is one of nightmare scenes (you'll know it when you see it). Other than that there are some times where the animation suffers. Usually this is in two shots or close shots where two characters are talking. Then again I did watch it dubbed so maybe I am mistaken. It did seem to be more stilted during those scenes though. Overall the quality is something that you would see in a Disney/Don Bluth film.


The story itself is another draw. Like I said, its a mystery/noir film but told from the perspective of a cat. The story is taken from Akif Pirincci's novel of the same name. The main character is Francis, a tabby who just moved to the neighborhood. He begins by narrating over the scenes as he investigates his new home. This is where I was initially pulled in. The dubbing is unnoticeable. Francis' noir narration is spot on with all the typical gumshoe detective types. The voice actors fit the mold perfectly so there is never a time where you don't feel pulled out of the movie due to odd voices.


Back to the plot, Francis sniffs around and finds a dead cat in the back yard. Another cat, named Bluebeard, informs him about the goings on in the neighborhood. The two team up (although Bluebeard just goes along for the ride) to find out who is killing cats. All the evidence they find is geared to the characters, such as they find that certain scents at the crime scene or which victims were neutered or not. Like any mystery story there are lots of times where you come up with a theory along with Francis, only to be duped when some new facts comes into play. Sadly though, if your like me, you will figure out the killer somewhere in the middle, but the film still throws a lot of different data at you that will make you doubt who you think is doing it. Along with the mystery there are some undertones of Man VS Animals and some allusions to Hitler. The Man VS Animal debate won't be a bludgeon over your head like Fern Gully's Man VS Nature.


I believe in the beginning I mentioned something about dead cats right? Yes, that is probably the third thing that drew me into this movie (although I regret it). Here is a list of things you will see in this movie: dead cats, corpse puppets, suicidal cats, disemboweling, innocent cats dying, beheaded cats, drilling brains, acid in brains, cat torture, and.......cat sex (just as awkward as it sounds, don't worry its only for a couple seconds and it only happens once). Now why would I think this is a reason to see this movie? I think its the shock value. Its like haunted house on Halloween. Every new corner is filled with something that is going to freak you out. Most people (that are Americans) will constantly be saying, "wow, you would never see that in a Disney movie". Despite this, Felidae treats the material as serious and not like a SAW film. Its not there to shock you, its there to get you emotionally in the movie. One such grisly scene will make you instantly connect with Francis and his drive to end the murders.

Final Verdict: Watch it if your into interesting animated films that aren't so mainstream, but don't watch it if you have a weak stomach.

I heard that the dubbed English version is on the German DVD, but if you are too cheap you can watch it on youtube: Felidae English part 1

Website update and news

I just updated my website and now its down. You see I have an old email that is just full of junk as well as all the emails I get to my gmail account. One of those is my web hoster. So I assume they were sending me messages about paying my yearly bill, but I never read them since I only use my gmail account now. They called me up today to remind me. The point of all this is: My website is updated, but its down, and I'm in the process of paying for another year of service.

In other news I've been inspired to create something new. I was combing through my old files looking for something and I found a animated storyboard I did for a script I wrote.

Newly uploaded here > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D8BPf8obsI

I was also working on the character model of ADM (the guy with the newspaper) recently. I reworked his face so he resembles Vincent Price. I tried to give him hair too but it always came out looking weird. I need to dig out the old script and start figuring out what I need to model. So far (from my memory) there are three characters, maybe five sets, and one vehicle/character that I may or may not include since it only lasts one second. The story follows the original Tell-Tale Heart pretty closely with a few deviations. I picture a victorian/steampunk/german expressionism world (the usual) with robots. Horse drawn carriages that are cars with horses coming out of them, meals of electricity, and photos of a robot in their version of WWII.

Also, if someone ever asks me, "what is your favorite thing that you have created, art-wise" I would have to say this. I don't know why, but its my favorite. Its so dumb.

New Work

I have a blog? Oh yeah, I forgot.

A while ago I got a few jobs. Which means that the recession is over. If I can get not one, but two jobs, then the recession has to be over and we are working our way up and out of the hole.

Anyway, my first job is just a weekend position at Macy's Furniture doing receiving (stock). It's pretty easy for the most part and never gets to the point of being a stressful job. The main advantage is it isn't a on call or seasonal position. I get set hours on set days. No checking online for the possibility of hours or not being able to tell anyone when or if I will be working on any given day.

Not only do I have a consistent job, but I also got a job in my field. Its not as grand as it could be, but resume wise its very good. Basically I am drawing 15+ illustrations for two books as a 2nd edition. Its fun to come up with the character designs and keeping the illustration as correct to the book as possible. I hate when a book says something obvious like the character has blond hair, but the drawing gives them brown hair. Every line of the chapter has to be analyzed so that the image can match up. The beginning of one chapter mentioned that it had just rained, so I made sure to add some puddles and mud in the image.

ART STUFF:
I made a new animation since last time I made a post.

Shop lifter - Audio from Full House. I think in the original, Stephanie Tanner returns the stole sweater and learns a life lesson about stealing. But that's no fun to animate. I also reused a character I made a while ago. One day I want to build up a library of characters so I can use them for anything rather than make something new.

Run to the Bus Stop Old animation test I did for a company around August 2009.
The test was to animate a kid going to the bus stop. The run is pretty clunky, but I like the weird squash at the end.

I also started up a new comic series that I've had in my head for at least 3 years.
Higher Education 01
Higher Education 02
03 is done I just haven't colored it yet. I have been working on a character model sheet for the main character, Haley. Once I reveal her back story in the comic I will post it.

Future animation projects:
I've got an idea for
- an anti-drug ad with teeth
- Me reviewing movies and such, only I'm animated
- Bobby Tisdale's intro to Eugene Mirman's segment. He's so ridiculous with his "OH, I, DOUGHT, OOo...rrrrRRRussia. Ohhh, Russia!" Its one of those things that screams,"ANIMATE ME".

Breath of Fire III review

(Also available on PSP via the UK and Australia. Why not USA?)
Not many people talk about this game, so I thought I might bring it up. As a little backstory, this was the first game I got for my Playstation. Keep in mind this was also my first experience outside the relm of Nintendo fandom so I wasn't sure what I was getting into. After a while though I was obsessive about the BoF universe.

Story: Where to start? Like all Breath of Fire games it has the same few characters, Ryu, Nina, and that snake woman who has a different name each game. BoF3 seems to follow the first two games plots since some of the former main characters make an appearance either as a race or as a npc like a merchant etc.

The story is probably better told than any Final Fantasy game I have played. First off, you don't need to take notes to understand it. Its also not so cut and dry as "go here, defeat this". Characters come and go, some die, and even the npc side stories are almost as deep as the main character's. There are so many plots that the game takes you through, the designers could have cut out half the content and still had a great game. The biggest plot twist comes in halfway through the game and it changes things so much it feels like you're playing an expansion or a sequel.

My favorite part of the game is the progression of the main character Ryu. At first he is weak and a coward. When he attacks he looks away and swings his sword randomly with a yelp. Later in the story he gets braver and he swings his sword professionally to reflect this. Did they need to add that different animation to reflect that he is getting stronger? No, but just watching your character change over time is very gratifying.

Gameplay:

RPG simplified. Attack, defend, items, magic/special attacks, and watch. Moves are all assigned to the control pad so if you wanted to defend you just press right and X. Simple. No complex menus at all. One thing that blew me away when I first played this game was the fact that all the battles took place where I ran into the enemy. Not many RPGs had that at the time. There isn't any tactics with the higher and lower elevations, but at least you're not teleported to a generic battle stage.

Magic in the game is varied. Characters can have varied attacks thanks to the watch move that allows your characters to learn the moves that enemies use on them. Very cool, but the character is an open target while they are trying to learn a new move. Each character has their own main magics, Nina being the magical powerhouse, and Ryu with his dragon transformations. Speaking of that, Ryu's transformations are quite creative on their own. Throughout the game he gets powers such as ice or mutant that can be combined to form new dragons. There are many different types, a small dragon, a larger dragon, behemoth, warrior, and several more. Some combinations can even result in errored, but rare transformations.


I might also point out that unlike BoF4 which had 3D versions of the dragons, those where only in game cutscenes whereas in BoF3 Ryu is always transformed.

The field gameplay is fairly simple. You walk around an isomeric area, use the R1 button to free look around the buildings etc, and use the triangle button to "steal". Stealing is just the player controlled character slashing, headbutting, or even using a cannon on NPCs which sometimes yields some coins. It is also like the Lost Vikings games in that each character has a specific ability that can be used on the field. Peco can hit objects, Nina uses magic to power things, and Garr can move big objects. There are many times where the game takes a break from fighting and you have to solve puzzles with the characters.

Anyone who has played the game can tell you that fishing is one of the main game highlights. Pick your bait, your rod, and cast out the line. Caught fish can even be used in battle to heal or cause damage to the enemy. If you catch the right amount of fish you can trade them for rare items. The other main mini game is the fairy village. It's kind of fun, but it is kind of tedious. I liked it because I could make item shops and a free hotel within quick access wherever I am on the world map. Along with this there are MANY smaller mini games such as training a weakling to fight his stronger rival. The desert crossing mini game is really annoying however. It does give you the feeling that you are taking part in Laurence of Arabia, but without any online guides it could be your downfall.

Graphics: Okay, looking past the aged square background polygons, the pixled sprites, and some of the effects, it still stands on its own really well. The sprite animation is really varied and full of reactions. Like I said before, they took the time to create different animations for the same character just to show what we already know. There are a ton of cute actions like Ryu and Nina "talking" in the background while Momo has a serious conversation.

Sound: Its varied and never gets on your nerves. One thing that I really love about the Breath of Fire series is each game has a point where the battle theme changes. Its not the same rocking beat 100% of the game. In BoF3 it happens at that change in the game I mentioned earlier. Another thing that blew my mind at the time was that the characters had voices! Wait? You mean at one point characters just made slashing sounds when they hit someone? Yes, and you can just play Final Fantasy VII to hear/not hear that (man I am really bashing FF today). Sure its not full blown dialogue, but they do speak actual words. I used to play around with the custom magic spells to hear how other characters would say them since they all have slight Japanese accents. Most of the sounds are just exclamtions though, but still that's better than silence.


Afterword: BoF 1 and 2 are okay. The first BoF feels like an RPG Maker game and BoF2 feels like an advanced RPG Maker game. Then BoF3 blows out of the water keeping all the good of the previous games and adding to it. I'm still not sold on BoF4. It's like BoF3 with a clean layer over top of it. The character animation is beautiful and it has the added 3D dragons (but Ryu is always in warrior form). The story is very crazy because you play as the final boss throughout the game and learn about all the things he is doing while Ryu travels around. The ability to learn attacks, fish, and the fairy village return too. Despite all of this the story and game plot flow just aren't as interesting as BoF3's. However the point where the main cahracters finally find the princess is probably the highest point (not being sarcastic, it is a pretty traumatic moment). It was so-so which is probably why they changed things up for the fifth Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. I haven't played that yet, but it sounds pretty interesting. BoF in a futuristic setting and the reviewers say that dying in the game actually affects the game somehow.

All I am saying is PLAY THIS GAME. Screw next gen murder fests, Breath of Fire III is where its at.

Of Critters and Animation

Two new animations for the month.


Spiderbot rig by atezel at creativecrash.com. Story: Patrolling spiderbot encounters a flawed cube in the cube making factory.



Audio from Seinfeld "The Wink". Animated in Flash.

Both of these took me forever to get into a format and size that youtube would like. I like hd264 in mov format, my version of After Effects doesn't understand the new version of Quicktime I guess and it won't give me these options. I can get it to render out a version in avi, but its usally a gig and that would take forever to upload to any site. In the end I have to compress it until it looks decent. I have to upgrade After Effects so I can get some of that sweet HD264 compression action again.


I want to watch Critters again. I watched it when I was a kid and it freaked me out. It wasn't until I watched Dead Alive (Brain Dead) that my fear of horror films disappeared. It was so over the top that anything else won't bother me.

I love the first version of horror films. Its back when people aren't expecting Jason to appear or Chucky isn't cracking jokes. Sequels just spread the initial butter out until its just a thin layer. However some sequels, like Aliens and Chucky II, improve on the original concept.

Speaking of horror films, I watched the Mystery Science Theater version of The Beast of Yucca Flats this weekend. Wow. Worst Movie Ever. It's bad. There is barely any dialogue, and if there is its obviously a post production recording. Most of it is narrated but all his dialogue is confusingly poetic, such as telling the audience that the characters are "moving towards progress" over and over. There are a lot of scenes that have no purpose, such as people moving from one place to the other. There is a lot of violence, but no blood so you can never tell if someone is dying from a shot or just wounded. Most of all, Tor Johnson plays the Beast. The same Tor Johnson of Ed Wood fame. The movie is so bad but you can see the plot and how things could be better edited right in front of you. That's why I think its time for a remake of The Beast....starring Vin Diesel as "The Beast"!